What Is Open Interest?

什么是未平仓量？

Open interest is the total number of outstanding derivative contracts for an asset—such as options or futures—that have not been settled. Open interest keeps track of every open position in a particular contract rather than tracking the total volume traded.

未平仓量是指某项资产（如期权或期货）尚未结算的衍生品合约总数。未平仓量追踪的是某一特定合约的每笔未平仓头寸，而不是交易总量。

 

Thus, open interest can provide a more accurate picture of a contract's liquidity and interest, identifying whether money flows into the contract are increasing or decreasing.

因此，未平仓量可以更准确地反映合约的流动性和利益，确定流入合约的资金是增加还是减少。

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

要点

·Open interest is the total number of open derivative contracts, such as options or futures, that have not been settled.

·未平仓量是指期权或期货等衍生品未平仓量的总数。

·Open interest is commonly associated with the futures and options markets.

·未平仓量通常与期货和期权市场相关联。

·Increasing open interest represents new or additional money coming into the market, while decreasing open interest indicates money flowing out of the market.

·未平仓量的增加代表有新的或额外的资金进入市场，而未平仓量的减少则表示有资金流出市场。

·To comprehend open interest, you should understand that traders can buy and sell to open and close positions.

·要理解未平仓量，您应该明白交易者可以通过买入和卖出来开仓和平仓。

 

Understanding Open Interest

理解未平仓量

Open interest is most often associated with the futures and options markets, where the number of open contracts changes daily. Open interest is the number of options or futures contracts held by traders in active positions. These positions have been opened, but have not been closed out, expired, or exercised.

未平仓合约通常与期货和期权市场有关，未平仓合约的数量每天都在变化。未平仓合约是指交易者持有的期权或期货合约数量。这些头寸已经开仓，但尚未平仓、到期或行权。

 

Open interest decreases when buyers (or holders) and sellers (or writers) of contracts close out more positions than were opened that day. To close out a position, a trader must take an offsetting position or exercise their option.

当合约的买方（或持有者）和卖方（或卖出者）平仓数量多于当日开仓数量时，未平仓合约数就会减少。要平仓，交易者必须持有抵消头寸或行使期权。

 

Open interest increases once again when investors and traders open more new long positions or sellers take on new short positions in an amount greater than the number of contracts that were closed that day.

当投资者和交易者开立的新多头头寸或卖方持有的新空头头寸数量超过当天平仓的合约数量时，未平仓合约量就会再次增加。

 

Here's a simple scenario—assume that the open interest of the ABC call option is 0. The next day a trader buys 10 ABC options contracts as a new position. Open interest for this particular call option is now 10. The day after, five ABC contracts were closed, and 10 were opened. This means that open interest increased by five to 15.

下面是一个简单的情景--假设 ABC 看涨期权的未平仓合约数为 0。现在该看涨期权的未平仓合约数为 10。第二天，5 份 ABC 合约被平仓，10 份被建仓。这意味着未平仓合约增加了 5 份，达到 15 份。

 

 

Open Interest vs. Trading Volume

未平仓量 vs. 交易量

Open interest is sometimes confused with trading volume, but the two terms refer to different measures. For example, imagine one trader holds 10 option contracts and sells them to a new trader entering the market. The transfer of these contracts does not create any change in the open interest because positions were transferred, not closed or opened.

未平仓量有时与交易量混淆，但这两个术语指的是不同的度量标准。例如，假设一个交易者持有10个期权合约并将它们卖给进入市场的新交易者。这些合约的转移并不会导致未平仓量的任何变化，因为仓位是转移的，而不是关闭或开启的。

 

Trading volume, on the other hand, increased by 10 because of the transferral.

另一方面，由于转移，交易量增加了10。

 

The Importance of Open Interest

未平仓量的重要性

Open interest is a measure of market activity. Little or no open interest means there are no opening positions, or that nearly all the positions have been closed. High open interest means there are many contracts still open, which means market participants will be watching that market closely.

未平仓量是市场活动的一个度量标准。很少或没有未平仓量意味着没有开仓，或者几乎所有的仓位都已经关闭。高未平仓量意味着还有许多合约仍在开放，这意味着市场参与者会密切关注该市场。

 

Open interest measures money flow into or out of a futures or options market. Increasing open interest represents new or additional money coming into the market, while decreasing open interest indicates money flowing out of the market.

未平仓量用来衡量资金流入或流出期货或期权市场。增加的未平仓量代表新的或额外的资金进入市场，而减少的未平仓量表示资金流出市场。

 

Open interest is significant to options traders as it provides key information regarding the liquidity of an option.

对于期权交易者来说，未平仓量的重要性在于它提供了关于期权流动性的关键信息。

 

Real-World Example of Open Interest

未平仓量实例

 

Below is a table of trading activity in the options market for traders A, B, C, D, and E. Open interest is calculated following the trading activity for each day. The key to understanding how this works is whether the trader bought or sold to open or close positions.

下面是一个表格，显示了交易者A、B、C、D和E在期权市场的交易活动。每天的交易活动后都会计算未平仓量。理解这是如何工作的关键是交易者是买入还是卖出以开启或关闭仓位。

 

 

 

·Jan. 1: Trader A buys one option to open a position from Trader B, increasing open interest by one.

·1月1日：交易者A从交易者B处买入一份期权建仓，未平仓合约增加一份。

·Jan. 2: Trader C buys five options to open a position from D, which increases open interest to six.

·1月2日：交易者 C 从交易者 D 处买入五份期权建仓，未平仓合约增加到六份。

·Jan. 3: Trader A sells one option to D to close a position, decreasing open interest by one.

·1月3日：交易者 A 向 D 卖出一份期权平仓，未平仓合约减少一份。

·Jan. 4: Trader E bought five options from C to open positions, who sold the five purchased from D to close positions.

·1月4日：交易者 E 从 C 处买入五份期权建仓，C 将从 D 处买入的五份期权卖出平仓。

 

Is Higher Open Interest Better?

更高的未平仓量是否更好？

High open interest usually indicates higher liquidity for a contract. This generally means there will be less difference between how much a trader wants for an option and how much another will pay. This can make it easier to buy and sell. If open interest is increasing and becoming higher, this signals that the market trends around that option are likely to continue.

高的未平仓量通常表示合约的流动性更高。这通常意味着交易者要求的期权价格和另一个人愿意支付的价格之间的差异会更小。这会使买卖变得更容易。如果未平仓量在增加并变得更高，这表示围绕该期权的市场趋势可能会继续。

 

Is Open Interest Bearish or Bullish?

未平仓量是看跌还是看涨？

Rising open interest usually means that there is new buying happening, which is a bullish trend. However, if open interest grows too high, it can sometimes be a bearish signal that indicates a coming change in market trends.

上升的未平仓量通常意味着有新的买入发生，这是一个看涨的趋势。然而，如果未平仓量增长得太高，有时可能是一个看跌信号，表示市场趋势即将发生变化。

 

What Happens When Open Interest Increases?

当未平仓量增加时会发生什么？

When open interest increases, it usually means new money is coming into the market for that option. As long as this is happening, the current trend will continue. When open interest decreases, it is usually a sign that the market is liquidating and more investors are leaving. This often means that the current price trend is ending.

当未平仓量增加时，它通常意味着有新的资金进入该期权的市场。只要这种情况持续，当前的趋势就会继续。当 未平仓量减少时，通常意味着市场正在清算，更多的投资者正在离开。这通常意味着当前的价格趋势正在结束。

 

The Bottom Line

总结

Open interest is the total number of open derivative contracts that haven't been settled. They haven't been exercised, closed out, or expired. This measurement is associated with the options and futures market rather than the stock market. Open interest is equal to the total number of open contracts, not the sum of all transactions between buyers and sellers.

未平仓量是尚未结算的开放式衍生合约的总数。它们尚未行使、平仓或到期。这种度量与期权和期货市场相关，而不是股票市场。未平仓量等于开放合约的总数，而不是买家和卖家之间所有交易的总和。

 

When open interest goes up, it represents new money coming into the market. When open interest decreases, it means money is flowing out of the market. Open interest is not generally viewed as an indicator of trends or price action.

当未平仓量上升时，它代表有新资金进入市场。当未平仓量减少时，它意味着资金正在流出市场。未平仓量通常不被视为趋势或价格行为的指标。

 

By AKHILESH GANTI

作者：AKHILESH GANTI

Updated June 30, 2023

更新日期：2023 年 6 月 30 日

Reviewed by GORDON SCOTT

审核：GORDON SCOTT